Bear bile draining: Help us call a halt to this barbaric cruelty

BEAUTIFUL creatures tortured in the name of medicine ... but now animal lovers are fighting back

Bears are drained of bile for use in Chinese 'medicine' that has no proof that it even works [ANIMALS ASIA]

The imprisoned bear holds her powerful paw up to the metal bars of her tomb-like cage to greet the visitor peering in. It is a remarkably gentle reaction from an animal being made to suffer the most horrific abuse at the hands of man.

Locked away for most of her life the Asiatic black bear is let out only twice a day – to have bile drained straight from drill holes in her stomach so it can be used in traditional Chinese “medicine”.

Fortunately for this bear a happy ending is in sight as the visitor approaching has not come to harm her but to save her. She is among 130 Asiatic black bears handed over to a wildlife charity by a repentant farmer.

Yan Shaohong, a Buddhist, passed them on to Animals Asia after being talked round by his animal-loving daughter, who helped open his eyes to the bears’ suffering. His business too had become a pointless torture.

The farm, a subsidiary of Flower World, a state-invested horticultural business, was making no profit. Mr Yan had two choices, therefore. One was to sell the bears to another bile farmer where their hellish existence would continue and the other was to hand them over to Animals Asia.

He not only chose the latter but in a historic gesture he has agreed to work with them to convert his farm in Nanning, China, into a sanctuary where the bears will experience love and care for the first time.

The deal announced last week is further proof that bear bile farming is becoming less popular as more Chinese realise the substance offers no healing properties whatsoever.

Mr Yan said: “The business, from breeding to extracting bile, never made our company money. No profit means no future. We decided not to invest further and felt it was time for change.”

A Chinese worker collects bile from a caged bear through holes in its stomach [AFP/GETTY]

I’m influenced by Buddhism and my family. My daughter is an animal lover. I asked one of the farm workers what he thought of the process of extracting bile. He said that he thought it was very cruel, only we are unable to see it for ourselves

Yan Shaohong

Twenty-eight of the sickest bears are being relocated to Animals Asia’s base in Chengdu, 745 miles away, for urgent veterinary care. The others, including 40 females who may be pregnant, will remain at the farm but will now be housed in spacious enclosures.

Mr Yan admitted: “I’m influenced by Buddhism and my family. My daughter is an animal lover. I asked one of the farm workers what he thought of the process of extracting bile. He said that he thought it was very cruel, only we are unable to see it for ourselves.

“The inward pain of the bear is invisible to us. Yet the large amount of antibiotics the bears are fed is the evidence they suffer infections.

“Some of the bears here are sick because they have had bile extracted but some are newborn cubs. If we transfer them to another bear farm they would probably still be tortured.

"We had to find a good replacement for those bears – we believe the future of our bears would be improved by out working with Animals Asia."

As the Sunday Express highlighted in our crusade to encourage the Chinese government to ban this evil trade, hundreds of bears die every year through diseases picked up by having their bile collected in such unsanitary conditions.

One victim was Stan, a rescued brown bear sponsored by Ricky Gervais. Stan died two years ago from gall bladder cancer.

Last week The Office star tweeted a link to Animals Asia’s Peace By Piece campaign, which is aimed at raising some of the money needed to convert Mr Yan’s farm. He called it “Heartwarming & Groundbreaking!”

Animals Asia plans to work alongside authorities in China and invest £3million over the next three years to build the sanctuary and education centre. Nine of the existing farm workers will be re-employed as carers.

Jill Robinson, Animals Asia’s founder, said statistics show 87 per cent of Chinese are against bile farming.

She added: “This negotiation is a result of years of growing awareness and increased opposition, with the bear farmer showing the moral integrity to do the right thing.”